London: Oil prices edged up on Monday after tensions between Russia and Ukraine have escalated, although concerns about fuel demand in China and forecasts of a global oil surplus weighed on markets. Brent crude futures gained 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $71.24 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $67.11 a barrel, up 9 cents, or 0.1%.

According to Qatar News Agency, Brent and WTI slid more than 3% last week on weak data from China and after the International Energy Agency forecasted that global oil supply will exceed demand by more than 1 million barrels per day in 2025 even if cuts remain in place from OPEC+.

China’s refinery throughput fell 4.6% in October from last year and as the country’s factory output growth slowed last month, government data showed on Friday.